The Hot Spring
by reaper with no name
Summary: Vincent and Re-L are trapped in a hot spring together, minus clothing.


Another day, another few people saved. Salvage and rescue operations in Romdeau had left the crew of the Rabbit exhausted. There was only so much that even the Proxy of Death could do.

The plan for now was to establish a sort of temporary commune, similar to the one that existed outside of Romdeau in the past. The irony was staggering. After that was accomplished…Well, only Vincent knew. In the end, it would be he that everyone would be relying on for survival. Such was the fate of being a proxy.

But for now, none of that mattered. Confident that the hastily-assembled rescue crews they had established would be able to handle things for a day or two, the crew of the Rabbit set out for a vacation day. And after the hell they had put themselves through in the week since Romdeau's collapse, they needed it.

As if the fates wished to reward them for their hard work, they stumbled upon a hot spring in the side of a mountain. Naturally, Pino and Kristeva were not too interested, but Re-L and Vincent were sure glad for it. Unfortunately, if the two were to enter it at the same time…Well, Re-L did still have that last FP bullet.

And so, Vincent Law stood outside of the cave, holding a towel, waiting anxiously for Pino to return with news of the interior. When the lavender-haired auto-reiv returned, she gave a thumbs-up.

"All clear, Vince! No Re-L in sight!"

"Thanks, Pino. I owe you one," Vincent said as he mussed up her hair affectionately. "Now go have some fun. But don't go too far, okay? Remember what we talked about."

"If Pino goes too far away, Aunt Kristeva will blow a gasket and then Re-L will get mad and shoot Vince because Vince doesn't know how to fix gaskets."

Vincent nodded. "Exactly."

Pino smiled brightly and ran off. It was amazing how cute that auto-reiv…No, that _child..._could be sometimes. And her smile was more infectious than the Cogito virus could ever be. Here, Vincent had already caught it.

And that smile stayed on his face as he walked into the cave, stripped off his clothing, and entered the hot spring. It was a pity that it couldn't last.

"Vincent!!!"

"Huh?"

Being yelled at by a person too many times can have unfortunate side effects. One of them is that one gets used to replying to them as if in a normal conversation. Which is exactly what Vincent began to do as he looked over to where the voice came from.

Of course, Re-L was in the hot spring too. And she, too, was lacking "proper" attire.

The sight immediately reminded Vincent of where he was, causing him to nearly jump out of the water as he frantically attempted to cover his eyes. He was already doomed, but at least maybe she'd make his death quick and painless if he was smart about this.

"VINCENT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Pino said you weren't in-"

"Hi!"

Vincent recognized the last voice as Pino's, but wasn't stupid enough to open his eyes to confirm it. Fortunately, he didn't have to, because Re-L did it for him.

"Pino! What are you doing in here?! And why do you have my clothes?! And his?!"

Pino merely laughed. "Pino read this in a book once. The prince and the princess are forced to spend some time together alone, and then they decide to get married. Tee hee hee! I'll be back soon!"

Vincent heard nothing more from Pino after that except her running footsteps.

"Oh no you don't! Get back here you little-!" It sounded as if Re-L intended to give chase. Unfortunately, she did not seem to get far, and soon returned to the hot spring, her teeth chattering.

"Did you get her?" Vincent asked, hoping she had forgotten about her desire to kill him.

"No. It's too cold out there. I'd get frostbite before I caught up to her. As much as I hate to admit it, it's just not worth it."

"So…What now?"

"Well, she said she'd be back, and even if she's lying, Kristeva will come looking for us eventually. We'll just have to wait it out."

"Oh."

Well, this was awkward. He was trapped in a hot spring with Re-L, and neither of them had clothes. Under other circumstances, this would be a dream come true. But fate was always so cruel to him.

"And don't you dare think about opening your eyes, Vincent."

"I wasn't, I swear!" Vincent rushed to defend himself.

"Good. Pino might have taken my clothes, but she left my gun."

Vincent wasn't sure if that was actually true, but he decided not to risk it. And just in case she did have it…

"If it helps any, I didn't actually…See anything, Re-L."

"You're lying."

"What?" He never was a very good liar, but the certainty with which she said that caught him off guard.

"There's a certain part of your anatomy that functions as a lie detector in these sorts of situations."

It took a moment for him to understand her meaning, but once he did he quickly realized that he was only covering his face. Letting out a yelp, he quickly used his other hand to cover himself.

"Better. No one needs to see that," Re-L spat. She probably didn't mean to put it so harshly, but it stung all the same.

The two sat in silence for a few moments. Surprisingly, it was Re-L who broke the silence. "Turn around."

"What? Why?"

"That way I can be sure you're not peeking through your fingers at me."

"Oh. All right." He began to turn around. "Hey, wait. How do I know you're not looking at me?"

"So what if I am?" She coughed. "I mean, what if I were to, hypothetically? You say you love me, so why would you mind?"

"Hmmm…Good point. Yeah, I guess you could look if you really wanted to."

"Well, you can just forget it. I'd rather have my internal organs splattered against the walls."

That jab stung even more than the last one. Vincent didn't reply. Re-L sighed, most likely frustrated at their situation. The two fell once more into silence. Until…

"Re-L?"

"Hm?"

"You don't mean that, do you?"

"Mean what?"

"You'd rather die than see me without my clothes on?"

"No, Vincent. I didn't mean it."

"Good. I'm not sure I could deal with that."

"Vincent, you know I…" she trailed off.

"I know you what?" Vincent echoed.

"…Never mind."

"No, what?"

"It's nothing, okay?! Drop it."

She was getting frustrated again. Why did he always mess things up like this? He didn't even know how he did it. He let himself slump over into a brooding position.

"I'm sorry," he said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"So am I," she too, spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, but it was so close behind him that he nearly jumped out of the water for a second time. Standing up and whirling around (eyes still closed), he was shocked when the hand in front of his face was gently pulled away and a warm pair of lips made contact with his own.

The last shock was too much for him, and finally he had to open his eyes. And now, the tables were turned, for her eyes were closed. But more importantly, she was kissing him. Vincent allowed his eyes to fall closed again as he pulled her closer to him.

* * *

It could have been minutes, hours, or even days later when Vincent stared up at the ceiling of the cave in post-coital bliss. Resting next to him with her head against his chest was Re-L. If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.

"So…What brought that on?" Vincent asked.

"Hm?"

"It was so sudden. Why then? Or better yet, just why?"

"Because I wanted to. That's all you need to know."

"Is it too much to hope for that you might want this again?"

Re-L stared at him for a couple seconds, before responding "After this? No, it's not too much to hope for. In fact…"

"Re-L!" came a voice that echoed through the cave. "Are you done seducing Vince yet?"

Vincent looked at Re-L in shock. "You…You…_Planned_ this?"

Obviously, Re-L did not count on Pino revealing the secret so soon. Nevertheless, she seemed to be determined to take advantage of this unexpected turn.

"Not yet!" she yelled back to Pino as she tackled Vincent back into the water.

"Come back later!" Vincent added right before Re-L's lips silenced his.


End file.
